Young pilot has high hopes for record

Ontario teen prepares for solo flight across country in amphibious plane

Matthew Gougeon, 16, aims to be the youngest person to fly an amphibious aircraft solo from coast-to-coast across Canada.

It’s not an average summer trip to the East Coast but Matthew Gougeon is not your average teenager.

The 16-year-old Ontario resident is hoping to set a record as the youngest pilot ever to fly a plane solo from Canada’s West Coast to the East Coast.

“I’m looking forward to it, ” says Gougeon, without a hint of nervousness about the upcoming adventure.

He will leave Tofino, B.C., around July 13 and land in Halifax around the 19th. He will be piloting his dad’s amphibious Cessna 182 airplane.

“At the start and end of the trip I’m going to try and land in each ocean, just as kind of a cool thing.”

“It’s a float plane but it is amphibious, which means the floats have wheels that come out of them, so I can land on runways, too.”

Gougeon lives in Collingwood, where he has just finished Grade 11 at Pretty River Academy, but spends his summers in Sudbury.

During his long solo flight, he expects to fly about six to nine hours a day, and will make overnight and refuelling stops in various cities across the country. His schedule is weather dependent.

“If there is weather or rain or anything like that, I can be grounded pretty easily,” he said.

If Gougeon has any trepidation about the trip, it is about going through the Rockies.

“The wind coming off the mountains can create a lot of turbulence and stuff like that,” he said.

Gougeon first took the controls of his father’s aircraft at age seven and began formal flight training at age 13. Last summer, he received a recreational pilot licence and since then has logged many hours flying solo.

Gougeon says he loves flying, although he has no intention to pursue it as a career.

“I just kind of look around and enjoy the scenery.”

The oldest of three children, Gougeon insists his parents have no qualms about his upcoming adventure, which will take him about 4,800 kilometres.

“They’re confident. Me and my dad (have been) flying pretty much every day for the last week and (will be) for the next week leading up to the trip. I’ll have more than enough practice.”

Gougeon says he has always dreamt about setting a world record.

“As a kid who doesn’t think about breaking world records — right?”

He believes that if he is successful he will be the youngest person to fly solo from coast to coast in Canada.

“It is a lot of time to be in the air by yourself,” he concedes.

Gougeon has got some corporate sponsors and will use the trip as an opportunity to raise awareness and funds for the Neil Armstrong Scholarship, administered by the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association. The fund provides flight training for young people who have the talent and character to become pilots, but can’t afford it.

Gougeon made his first visit to Halifax on a school trip just a few months ago.

On his second visit to the Halifax area, he expects to be landing at Shearwater airport, although his arrival times and landing locations are tentative.

Comments(2)

I hope Matthew's nav skills improve before the flight or he will NOT be flying "across Canada" if he ends at Halifax. In order to do that he will have to include Newfoundland and land in St. John's or at least Gander. I will keep an eye on the flight to see if he goes all the way or only comes close. Good luck.

I was going to go out to newfoundland, however flying over that much ocean is just a bad idea, even in a floatplane the water can easily get too rough to land in the event of an engine failure. Then there is the idea of flying around the shore, which would take an extra 3-4 hours of flying, an extra $1600 in fuel expenses that is kind of un-necessary In My Humble Opinion.